A Sweet Potato Flan ...

This year I find myself in the midst of a gorgeous Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for. My stuffed turkey roll is gently roasting in the oven and I have a moment to steal away and share my thoughts with you.

You - who have always been so motivating and supportive of me, my work, writing and madness. I am glad I can come here once again today and share a sweet moment with you.I think this year Thanksgiving is going to be a special celebration. There were so many great moments in our life this year. Yes, we had a few sad ones too - the passing away of my grandma was rather tragic, however the positive and truly wonderful effect of that was the way my entire family simply came together. I mean emotionally. For a person who has her entire family spread across the world these things are so very important.

We met some fantastic people who have become so dear and near to our hearts and I am so glad to be sharing our Thanksgiving dinner with them this year. Our Thanksgiving group has grown from the 10 of the previous years to 15 this year! I am totally ecstatic and I can't wait to have them all - big and small - sitting eagerly at the table so that we can spend a wonderful evening chattering, giggling and simply having a warm and cosey time.

To you all, I also wish a warm and truly wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. So go, bake, cook, eat and have a ball! I leave you with lots of hugs, kisses and a luscious sweet potato flan. A wonderful take on the great Crème Caramel, adding to it the character of the season.Ingredients(Adapted from the recipe from Epicurious.com)Printable version here.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Place the thick potato slices on a baking tray lined with a sheet of waxed or baking paper. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, making sure they do not become too dark. Roast them till soft. Allow to cool. Put the slices in a food processor and add the lime juice; puree until smooth. I strained my puree through a fine meshed sieve to get it really smooth.

Stir about half of the sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil without stirring, until the syrup turns a deep amber color, occasionally swirling the pan. This should take about 5 minutes. Immediately pour caramel into small ramekin bowls or one larger oven-proof dish. Save about 2 tablespoons caramel in saucepan. Swirl each ramekin form around, allowing caramel to coat bottom and about 1 centimeter up sides.

Add the milk to the remaining caramel in saucepan. This will cause the caramel to solidify but don't worry keep stirring over medium-low heat until the caramel dissolves. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until frothy. Whisk in cream, salt, sweet potato puree, and remaining sugar. Gradually whisk in hot milk-caramel mixture then strain back into same saucepan. Stir over medium heat for about 1 minute. Remove from heat; whisk in Port. Pour custard into prepared forms.

Place the forms in a large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to the roasting pan to come halfway up sides of ramekin forms. Bake until just set in center, about 30-45 minutes. If you find the top getting too dark place a sheet of baking paper over the tops. Remove flans from water. Chill until cold for about 5 hours or overnight.

Just before serving dip each ramekin bowl into a pan of hot water for about 15 seconds. Wipe dry. Invert onto serving plates, scraping caramel in forms over flan.

Optional: Decorate with some juicy, sweet pomegranate seeds.

Verdict

I made a test run of this dessert last week. It's incredibly smooth with a sweet mellow flavor of sweet potatoes and a toffee aroma of the caramel. Each flavor, in this divine dessert, comes together so well - without being too overpowering. It makes for an irresistible dessert and simply perfect for any feast.

If you are looking for fun things to do this Thanksgiving weekend, I've written a lovely post about fun and games with family and friends over at the Daily Tiffin. Read all about the Thanksgiving Fun with Kids.

Happy Thanksgiving Meeta. Being a vegeterian, no Turkey for us, Only Potato and Broccoli..:))The Flan looks amazingly beautiful. Can I send my Thanksgiving recipes which I am planning to make today for ur 'Traditional Feasts' event? Thought they are not 'traditional'!

Thanksgiving is always a special celebration - a wonderful opportunity to spend more time with those you deeply care about, and enjoy a delicious feast with them. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving yourself, Meeta!!

Hi meeta.....you have a wonderful blog here.I feel like trying each and every recipe of yours whenever i visit your blog.some i tried and i'm successfull but yesterday when i tried this flan i was a great disaster.I cut down the recipe to half and baked for 45 mts.i kept in the fridge for 4 hrs and when i tried to remove it from the ramekin it came out mushy,there is no caramel nothing.the caramel even turned into mushy.i don't understand where i went wrong.Can u please help me?Anyway i'm going to try it again tomorrow.

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hello, I am Meeta a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer living in the cuturally rich city of Weimar, Germany with my husband and our son, where I enjoy preparing multi-cultural home cooked meals with fresh organic ingredients. What's for lunch, Honey? is my award winning food blog where I combine my love for food with my love for photography and styling...